20 Day Cambodia Adventures Guided Motorcycle Tour
Cambodia Adventures Motorcycle Tour
In 2000, Motor Trails team called this trip the 'Cambodia Adventure Trip' because then almost all roads were just unpaved paths. But in recent years, the country has experienced rapid development, and more and more roads are paved. But we always manage to find unpaved adventurous paths, so we will keep the name 'Adventure trip' for the time being.
Key information
- Terrain: 30% off-road
- Bike: rental bike Baja250CC, XR250CC
- Mileage: 2490 kilometers / 1547 miles
- Meals: daily breakfast
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Start and end in Phnom Penh
- Take a ferry to cross the Mekong River on day 3
- A visit to the Han Chey temple, with its magnificent views over the Mekong
- Ride the route through the Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces
- Ride to Ratanakiri province, which is hidden in a corner bordering Laos and Vietnam
- Visit Preah Vihear, the over 1,000-year-old temple
- 19 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Accommodation
You will stay in various accommodations during the trip.
Program
- International tour leader: more than 5 participants
- Support car: more than 5 participants
Day 1 - 2 - Arrival in Phnom Penh, and stay 2nd day
The tour leader will outline the rules governing traveling by motorcycle and will go over the details of the full journey. The next day you made a sightseeing tour of Phnom Penh in order to get used to the motorcycle and the Cambodian traffic rules. In the afternoon you visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide (S-21) Museum. Between 1975 and 1979 thousands of citizens accused of counterrevolutionary thoughts were interrogated, and tortured and all but seven were killed here. This former school still leaves a gloomy impression on oneself afterward.
Next, you go to the "Killing Fields" of Choeung Ek. Roughly ten kilometers outside the city, the prisoners of 5-21 were killed in the most brutal manner to save on bullets. Remains of clothing, teeth, and bones are still scattered across the field. In memory of the events, a temple has been built on the site in which the skulls dug up so far are housed. If time permits, you can also visit the charming Wat Phnom temple. After this busy first day, you end up at one of the many cafes along the Mekong River in Phnom Penh.
Day 3 - Phnom Penh – Kratie
You rise early to start a beautiful and varied day. After just a one km ride you will take a ferry to cross the Mekong River. You avoid the traffic of Phnom Penh and follow narrow paths and roads. You ride along the Mekong River, through villages and pass many temples. In Kampong Cham you have a break to get a local lunch. Then you follow on your way. You ride through the backyards of the local population. After a visit to the Han Chey temple, with its magnificent views over the Mekong, you continue your way along the river, which you cross again on the way to Kratie. While staying along the river, you will enjoy a drink at the hotel.
Day 4 - Kratie - Sen Monorom
For several years now you have had a new, adventurous route through the Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces. Today you ride to Sen Monorom. This small town in the jungle is the capital of the Mondulkiri Province. First, you take the recently improved NH7 in the direction of Snuol. Next, you ride near the Vietnamese border to the east. Today’s journey is a mix of gravel roads and tarmac, through forests and along deforested farmland. Depending on the time, you will visit a small charcoal factory. Watch out for monkeys on the road!
Day 5 -Sen Monorom - Bang Lung
Today you ride to Ratanakiri province, which is hidden in a corner bordering Laos and Vietnam. This is a sparsely populated green area with mountains, waterfalls, crater lakes and ethnic minorities ("Khmer Loeu", or "Highland Khmer"). There are also many gemstone mines. The road has recently been renewed into a good asphalt road and you ride north to the Tonle Srepok river. Next, you ride via wider gravel roads, through small villages, forests and plantations to Ban Lung. You will visit some waterfalls along the way, and you will end your day sipping your well-deserved refreshments overlooking a lake.
Day 6 - Bang Lung - Stay
After the wonderful but tiring days of last week, we're taking it easy today. If you like, you can take a nice tour through the surrounding area, following narrow gravel roads and winding mountain trails near the foot of the Virachey National Park
Of course, you could just as easily decide to chill at the hotel with a book or go for a massage. What certainly shouldn't be missing from your program: a fresh swim in – or at least a visit to - the beautiful crater lake Yaklom. This is 4000 years old, and the lake is very popular with local families to picnic.
Day 7 - Bang Lung - Stung Treng
As nature awakens, you prepare yourself for another adventurous day. You leave on time for your trip to Stung Treng. If the water level is low enough, you ride via Siem Pang and cross the Tonle Kong River to ride through to the Laos border. An alternative is you proceed further South, via the newly asphalted route 78. This area was bombed by the Americans during the Vietnam War. There were several "Ho Chi Minh paths here, routes that the North Vietnamese used to supply southern lines. Stung Treng is a characteristic place with its own atmosphere.
Day 8 - Stung Treng – Ta Seng
Early in the morning you cross over the Mekong River and set your course towards the west. For most of the morning, you will be on a bumpy road that leads us over small tracks through rice paddies and dense vegetation to Anlung Chrey. Here You will take a break. You will continue your adventure route through the countryside and ride along the Boeng Peae Wildlife Centre to end your day in Ta Seng; this is a very remote settlement. It has some impressive temples and hardly any tourists. The support car will not always be with us, so the mechanic will be on the back of the tour leader's motorbike.
Day 9 - Ta Seng - Sra’Aem
Another adventurous day in the countryside. You ride along small tracks and country roads to the north to the border with Thailand. Along the way, you will try to pass through Koh Ker, a remote archaeological site situated in a jungle-filled region that is sparsely populated. Koh Ker is situated between the southern slopes of the Dangrek mountains, the Kulen mountains (Phnom Kulen) in the south-west, and the Tbeng mountain (Phnom Tbeng, near Tbeng Meanchey) in the east. The city of Koh Ker was on the most important strategic route of the Khmer empire. High on a hillcrest, on the border of Cambodia with Thailand, is the temple complex of Preah Vihear. You will visit it today or tomorrow morning. You will stay overnight in a nearby town.
Day 10 - Sra’Aem – Anlong Veng
This morning you will visit Preah Vihear. This over 1,000-year-old temple is a taste of what awaits us at Angkor Wat. The difference is that you are one of the few foreign tourists at the complex and can enjoy the breathtaking view of the Cambodian landscape from the top. This temple complex was the source of an armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in the late 80’s, when Thailand claimed the temple to be theirs. There are only a few tourists making their way to this temple complex as it is too far out of the way on regular tours. Halfway in the morning, you will jump on your bikes again and head west, following a beautiful road along the Dangrek Mountains. The destination is Anlong Veng.
This town was one of the last Khmer Rouge strongholds to fall to government forces in the late 90's. Most of the Khmer Rouge soldiers were taken into the government army. Just outside this settlement up the mountain towards the Thai border is the house where Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge comrades spent their last years. Pol Pot has been cremated here. The history is still clearly visible here and can be seen up close by the people who want to witness it.
Day 11 - Anlong Veng – Siem Reap
After a real Cambodian breakfast, you start your engines and you ride to Siem Reap. There is a major road to Siem Reap, but you will soon leave the road again to go through the rubber to ride plantations. Once you arrive in the area of Angkor Wat, you try to enter the temple city of Angkor Thom by motorbike and pass the world-famous temple of Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is one of the liveliest cities in Cambodia. In the center, you will find many good restaurants and cozy bars. In addition, this is the perfect place to shop for souvenirs, send an email, or pamper yourself with a massage. And, of course, is this your base for exploring the temples?
Day 12 - Siem Reap – Stay
Today you visit Angkor Wat. The temples of Angkor are a source of inspiration and pride for all Cambodians and appeal to the imagination of most of the visitors. The period of the Angkor empire spans 600 years, during which more than 70 temples, palaces, libraries, and other buildings were built, spread over 350 square kilometers. Angkor Wat is one of these temples but nowadays refers to the whole area. It is simply not possible to visit all the temples of this gigantic complex in a single day. Your tour leader, however, can advise which temples are best visited at a particular time and which temples must not be missed. This day at Angkor Wat will most certainly be one of the highlights of your trip!
Day 13 - Siem Reap – Battambang
Today you ‘dance’ around Highway 6 to Sisophon and 5 to Battambang. The chaos on the highway can be a true challenge, but you will avoid a lot of it by taking gravel routes north and south of it. Battambang is the second city of Cambodia and has many UNESCO-protected French colonial houses. These are located along the Sangker River. The famous bamboo train is also in Battambang. Depending on your time of arrival, you will try to join one of its rides.
Day 14 - Battambang - Veal Veng
If it has been raining recently, today can be a strenuous and challenging day. Riding to and crossing through the Cardamom Mountains can be a muddy event. Even though Cambodia has received lots of tourists for many years, the Cardamom Mountains were discovered by very few foreigners. The mountains form the border between Cambodia and Thailand and have long been a Khmer Rouge stronghold. In the beginning, the gravel roads are wide and flat, but they will be getting more bumpy and smaller when you get into the mountains. Agricultural plains turn into tropical rainforests. You spend the night in a simple guest house in the small village of Veal Veng. You will need to order food and drinks ahead of time so that the guest house can prepare these for us on time.
Day 15 - Veal Veng - Koh Kong
Today the route can get pretty challenging as well, especially when a rain shower has changed the surface into slippery smooth red clay. You take your time for this adventurous route through the green forest. The civilized world will be very far away for a while. You will also have a provisional lunch along the way. After lunch, you will look for the new Chinese road, a concrete block path that will take us to Koh Kong. If you have time you will see if you can take a refreshing dive in the sea somewhere along the way. Koh Kong is a small town on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, a few kilometers from the neighboring country.
Day 16 - Koh Kong – Sre Ambal
You leave Koh Kong, but not the adventure: You mix our ride between curved coastal asphalt roads and small jungle trails to Sre Ambal. You will ride through dense forests and pass waterfalls, while you find your way to Sre Ambel. You will ride along the Gulf of Thailand and Botum Sakor National Park. Sre Ambal, Nesat village is a small but upcoming village, situated along the Sre Ambal river and the Gulf of Thailand (or rather the Bay of Chakk Kampong Som). It is a very biodiverse area, consisting of swamps, mangroves and a large community of waterbirds. Since the ‘80s, villagers of this tiny town have been harmoniously living with the environment, using traditional farming and fishing methods. They have been joined by a colorful mix of expats building new homes.
Day 17 - Sre Ambal - Stay
You will have a break from the mountain stages of the past few days. You can take a walk through the village or along the nearby mangroves or beaches. Go for a swim, read a book, listen to some music at the Kubhaus, wash your clothes, or just hang around the guesthouse.
Day 18 - Sre Ambal - Kep
You follow highway number 3. Several times you have beautiful views over the coast. You stop for lunch in the town of Kampot. After a trip past the abandoned villas and the beautiful view from Kep's National Park, you arrive at the beautiful hotel early in the afternoon and enjoy its beautiful views over the coastline. If you like seafood, then you've come to the right place. Kep is a very suitable place to recap all the adventures of the past few weeks. You can relax here, or of course, you can also take a nice trip by motorcycle.
Day 19 - Kep - Phnom Penh
On your last motorbike day, you rode between some rice fields but mainly over dusty roads and paved roads within the capital. You make a detour towards the East to the Vietnamese border, where you can stop at Kep for lunch. Next, you ride north to Phnom Penh. The versatility of the roads in Cambodia is clearly visible. You witness life in the countryside and then exchange it for the hustle and bustle and coziness of the city.
Day 20 - Phnom Penh - departure
Depending on your flight schedule, you may still have time to explore more of the city. Your tour leader can provide more sightseeing tips for you. Then it is time to say goodbye.
Instructors
Mick Sonnenfeld
Now that the children and his Italian restaurant can more or less stand on their own two feet, Mick can now fully focus on his other passions: in addition to good food, these are traveling and motorcycling. Throughout his life, this was mainly limited to holidays in which he saw all corners of the world by motorcycle, car or camper, but now there is also room beyond that. Thanks to his experience, Mick can be deployed anywhere, but is currently mainly active in South-East Asia.
Location
During this tour, you will explore Phnom Penh, Kratie, Sen Monorom, Bang Lung, Stung Treng, Ta Seng, Sra’Aem, Anlong Veng, Siem Reap, Veal Veng, Koh Kong, and Sre Ambal.
Food
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- All airport transfers
- All overnight stays in a shared room, including breakfast (19 nights)
- Motorcycle hire
- Support vehicle with local driver
- Accompanying mechanic in support vehicle
- English-speaking tour guide on a motorbike
What's not included
- International flights
- Airport taxes and fuel surcharges
- Fuel for motorbike
- All other meals and drinks
- Personal expenses
- Travel – and Cancellation insurance
- Visa expenses
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Phnom Penh International Airport
9 km
Transfer included
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 15% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 15 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.